Memory Maze
by Flan
Summary: It's been two years, but finally, they found him. But now that he's safe, it's up to Sirius to save him. Sirius/Remus. Warnings: Male male love. Torture. Unfaithfulness. AAAAANGST.


Sirius sat in his kitchen reading the Prophet, cup of coffee in hand when James came through the fire place in the den in a hurry. "Sirius!" He shouted, trying to find him.

"I'm in here, James!" He yells back, not bothering to get up or even take his eyes off his reading material.

"They found him!" James yells, running into the kitchen. "They found Remus!"

In Saint Mungo's.

James and Sirius walked quickly through the halls. They spotted Dumbledore and rushed over to him. "How is he?" the two younger wizards ask in unison. Instead of answering their question, Dumbledore sighed and lead them down another hallway and into a lift.

"Is Remus alright?" asked Sirius.

Ignoring Sirius' question, Dumbledore spoke to the elevator, "floor minus 8, please."

"He's in a basement level room?" inquired James. "I thought those were reserved for the extremely wealthy."

"And the extremely dangerous." Added Dumbledore.

'Remus isn't dangerous,' Sirius thought to himself. In his youth he had come to St. Mungo's with his father to visit an old family friend that had had a bad reaction to a not-so legal anti-aging serum. While they were there he had seen a women being treated for lacerations. When he asked his father about it, the man had told him that she had done that to herself whilst transformed. The elevator dinged and they stepped off and into another hallway. "Sir, Remus being a werewolf doesn't make him dangerous, they've treated them here before. He's in full control of himself while in his human form."

"Not in his current condition." Dumbledore nodded.

"Albus," James grabbed the mans arm. "His he okay?"

Dumbledore sighed again."I do not believe he is, no."

They continued down the hall and turned the corner to find a Healer standing outside of a room looking over some papers in her hands. She looked up at them, smiled briefly at Dumbledore then her face became all business. "Healer Hewett," Dumbledore said with what Sirius thought was far too much cheer, considering why they were here, then said, "My old friend, we are here to see Remus."

The witch nodded then turned to unlock the door. She hesitated then asked; "Have you told them what to expect?" nodding her head toward James and Sirius.

"I thought it best to let them see him before saying too much about his condition. They've waited long enough I feel."

The Healer nodded once more and opened the door. The room was filled with sunlight that was pouring in through a large window, despite the fact that they were several miles underground. There was a slight figure sitting hunched in a chair looking out said window. Sirius was the first to the figure's side. He reached out a hand to touch the right shoulder of the man sitting down. "Rem?" He inquired when Remus didn't so much as flinch at the hand placed on his person. "Rem?" He said again, stepping to the side and crouching down to get a better look at the young mans face.

Remus was looking out the window with unfocused eyes, his mouth slightly open. His face was scarred, though Sirius was used to seeing it that way, there were a considerable amount more than the last time he had look at his friend. There was a smudge of something on his forehead and Sirius reached up to wipe it away when the Healer hurriedly said "Don't." Sirius withdrew his hand and looked at her in question. "He doesn't like his face being touched." She supplied. "He gets... Violent."

"What's wrong with him?" James whispered, his voice not strong enough for anything louder.

"From what we can figure out from tests done over the past few weeks, he has sustained a grate deal of trauma, both mantle and physical, that has left him in a state of catatonia."

"Catatonia?" repeated Sirius in question, still looking at his friend as though he could figure out what exactly was wrong just by staring.

"It can be triggered in many was, though in this case, by the trauma he endured over the past two years. It has left him with little to no motor activity or speech."

"Well, can't you fix him?" Asked James.

"We've tried, Mr. Potter. And nothing has worked thus far. It would not be unheard of for an individual's brain to go into a defensive state when faced with the situation Mr. Lupin was no doubt in, it would be understandable for his brain to react this way." At the looks of confusion on the two younger wizards faces she turned to Dumbledore. "You really haven't explained anything to these two, have you?"

There was silence for a moment before James said, "Well, one of you better start explaining then, hadn't you?"

"Really Albus," She said angrily.

"I thought it best they see he was alright before going into the details with them." Dumbledore said evenly.

"Is that way you waited, oh, what was it you said, Hewett; weeks, before telling us you found him?" Sirius was finding it very difficult to not punch the man. He stood up from his crouched position. "How dare you keep this from us? You knew how much finding Remus would mean to us, yet you said nothing. We saw you only three days ago and you didn't say a word about it!"

Dumbledore had the good grace to look ashamed, but remained silent. Hewett sighed. "Alright, you big coward, I'll do it." She glared un-approvingly. "As you two are undoubtedly aware, two years ago Mr. Lupin was on an undercover mission for The Order. Now, we aren't sure when, but something went wrong. Either his cover was blown when he was there or he was captured on his way to report his findings," She looked quit uncomfortable as she continued. "Over the course of the last two years, Mr. Lupin has undergone a number of different torture methods. Ranging from magical to physical. There were definite signs of the Unforgivables being used. We believe his condition to be a combination of both the physical and mantle distress he endured."

"And how do you know it's just a, what did you say? A defense mechanism?" asked James.

"If it had been purely caused by physical damage to the brain, his wolf form would be acting in much the same way as Remus himself. But on the full moon last week, the wolf showed no signs of catatonia."

"So," said Sirius slowly. "If it's not just the brain being damaged, then it's Remus doing it?"

"In a way, yes." Hewett said.

"So you can't heal him, than." He said, looking over to his unresponsive friend.

"Well, we do have a theory." Hewett said, eying Dumbledore. Both James and Sirius motioned for her to continue. "A few of my colleagues and I have a plan that we have very high hopes for." Dumbledore gave a cough, Hewett ignored it. "We believe that if we could access Mr. Lupin's memories, specifically the ones that originally caused his condition, we could us a series of memory charms to temporarily block them, then once he's in a stable condition we would slowly revers the charms, enabling Mr. Lupin to better deal with them."

"Why haven't you done that yet?" Asked James.

"We need the consent of at least two of his next of kin." Hewett replied. "Which, according to his will, would be the two of you, since his parents are deceased and he has no children or any other living relatives."

Before either James or Sirius could say anything, Dumbledore said, "Would you excuse us, Hewett? I would like to have a word with Mr. Potter and Mr. Black." Hewett looked as if she wanted to object but she nodded stiffly and left the room, closing the door as she went. For a moment Dumbledore didn't say anything, simply pulling out his pocket watch and examining it. He made a tutting noise and then pocketed it. "There never seems to be enough time in a day, does there?"

"Albus," said James. "Did you know about the plan the Healers had?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I did. Which is why I refrained from bringing you here for so long. I knew she would ask you to agree to it."

"And why shouldn't we?" Asked James. "If it get's him back, Why shouldn't we let them do it?"

"Invading the mind of another, especially that of a loved one, is a very serious mater that should not be taken lightly."

"I know." said James tersely.

"Do you?" Asked Dumbledore. "Do you understand what you would be agreeing to? You would be granting them the ability to completely dig through his mind, access every single one of Remus's memories, not just those that they seek. Memories of things he has kept secret from others, even you. And even if they were to somehow only see those memories of his captivity, they could do far more damage to him then even they realize if they make even the smallest of mistakes with the charms."

"What else are we supposed to do?" asked Sirius.

"The mind is an extraordinary thing. He could very well come out of this on his own."

"Or he could be stuck like this forever." countered James.

"But to force your way inside his mind? Something his captors no doubt have already done?" Asked Dumbledore.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Asked James once more.

"It is, of course, up to the two of you. Just make sure you are prepared for what Remus might have to say once, and if, he is healed."

James and Sirius looked at one another. "How would they do it?" Asked James.

"A form of Legilimency, used in a group setting." Explained Dumbledore. "This method gives the group the ability to interact with the subjects memories. It is highly dangerous and is only attempted by persons whom are very accomplished in Occlumency and Legilimency." Dumbledore looked at the two young men before him. "I would suggest, Mr. Black, if of course you two decide to go through with this, that you go along with the Healers. I feel it would be beneficial to Mr. Lupin if a friend were there, so as to limit the invasion as much as possible. I understand you have been practicing Occlumency and Legilimency from a young age?"

Sirius nodded. "Since before I had a wand, Sir." 'Thanks to my father.' he mentally added.

"Then I suppose there isn't any sense in waiting." Dumbledore sighed. "You two are sure about this?" They both nodded. "Very well. I shall alert the Healers." He left the room without saying anything else.

"Are we sure?" Asked James.

"Of course we are." Said Sirius, not sounding very sure at all.

"It's better that you're gonna be there." Said James. "He'd want you there."

"Would he?" Asked Sirius, walking over to the man they were talking about. "Would he even want me here, let alone in his mind?"

"How can you ask that? 'Course he would. He loves you."

"Even after what I did?"

James walked over to stand by Sirius, both men looking at Remus. "He never stopped loving you. You made a mistake. He knew that."

"I didn't mean it." Said Sirius, a lump forming in his throat.

"He knows."

"Then why did he leave?" Asked Sirius quietly. "Why did he leave me?"

"He didn't leave you, mate. He left for the mission."

"He wouldn't have accepted the mission if it weren't for me. He wouldn't be here if it weren't for my stupid decisions."

"Stop." James put his hand on his friends shoulder. "You don't know he would have said no if you two hadn't had that fight. He still might have gone." Sirius shook is head but before he could say anything the door opened and Healer Hewett stepped in.

It was three hours later, after them signing papers giving their consent for the procedure, and discussing how they would proceed, that they were finally leaving for the day. They would return tomorrow morning to begin. They didn't talk much as they walked through the hallways to get to the apparition point upstairs in the lobby. They said their goodbyes before apparating to their respective homes.

When Sirius got home he went to take a shower first. He turned on the taps and let the water heat up the small room. He undressed and looked in the mirror. He hadn't cut his hair in a long while. Nor shaved his face. In fact, there were many things about his appearance that he had fallen behind with. After Remus went missing, Sirius just couldn't see the point in many things he used to enjoy. Keeping up his physical appearance being one of them. He suddenly felt very tired and his eyes started to sting with unshed tears. "Damn it." He said. He stepped into the shower and started to scrub at his face, willing himself not to break down. "Damn it." He said again, tears starting to fall without his consent. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He yelled, his body shaking.

After the first year of no sign of Remus, he had begun to loose hope. Now, two years later, having found him, Sirius felt relieved, happy, and guilty. Perhaps if he had just looked a bit more, payed off a few more people, spent a few more sleepless nights researching and following leads, than maybe he would have found him. Maybe he would have been able to save him from being trapped in his own head.

Maybe.

The next morning Sirius arrived at St. Mungo's an hour earlier than was required. He was feeling self conscious about it only about five minutes however, because once he turned the corner leading to Remus's room, he spotted James sitting in one of the chairs just outside the door. James looked up from the paper he was reading. "Hey." He said, only looking mildly surprised by Sirius being there early as well.

"Hey," said Sirius after taking a seat next to his friend.

"You shaved." Noted James, handing over a section of his news paper.

"Yeah," Sirius said, taking the offered item. "Remus doesn't need to know how far I've let myself go. Gotta be sexy for my man." They both laughed at his attempt at humor, but stopped quickly as two Healers came down the hall.

"Mr. Black and Mr. Potter I presume?" The blonde one asked. They both nodded and the Healer smiled and offered his hand. My name's Eric Wright. This is my associate Grace Elbert."

"Nice to meet you." Sirius said, shaking their hands. They made idle chitchat before Healer Hewett came down the hall with another Healer. She smiled at them all.

"Ah, I see you've all met. This is Healer Rimp, she will be watching over us once we go under. Making sure our vitals are stable, that no one disturbs us, things like that."

"Well," said Elbert, "Shall we get started?"

It took just under two hours to set everything up. Rimp first checked all their vitals, making sure they were all in fit condition for the procedure. Finally they each conjured a chair to sit in and they all sat down. "Alright," Hewett said aiming her wand at Remus and motioning the others to do the same. "On the count of three. One, two, three!" They all shouted the spell at the same time, it hit Remus in the chest and then they were all being sucked towards him before everything went black..

Sirius opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor, Elbert, Wright and Hewett were all standing up and he hurried to follow suit. They all looked around, book cases lined the walls. Tables covered in paper, ink pots and more books. "We're in the Hogwarts library." Said Wright in amazement. "Why do you suppose that is?"

"I'd imagine the first few places we see in here will be like this. Places the subject felt at home, so as to have a safe place to go to in his mind when things in the real world felt too threatening." Explained Hewett. "Did he come to the library often when you two were at school together, Sirius?"

Sirius nodded distractedly. He was looking around the room, taking in the strange differences that this library had as apposed to those of the real Hogwarts library. The first thing he noticed was the ceilings. They were much higher than he remembered. And there seemed to be a lot more bookcases as well. Looking around Sirius realized that the shelves were set up like a maze. Sirius also noticed that it was much more clustered than the real library he had spent so much time avoiding in his youth.

Hewett hummed. "Well, the memory we're looking for won't be here. We should keep moving."

But before they even took five steps, a small voice came from behind them. "What are you doing?" They all jumped and turned around, pointing their wands at what looked to be nothing more than a little boy. Seven, eight years old at most. He had light brown hair and dark blue eyes. He tilted his head. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Er, my name's Hewett. What's yours?"

"Remus," the little boy said. "I don't think you're supposed to be here."

Understanding dawned on Hewett's face. "Hello, Remus. It's nice to meet you. Do you know the way out of here?"

Remus hesitated then shook his head. "No, but Remus does."

"I thought you were Remus?" said Wright.

Remus nodded. "Yeah. But I'm only eight." He said this as though it explained everything. "You should talk to Remus. He knows the way out."

"Do you know where we could find him?" Asked Hewett.

Remus nodded enthusiastically. "C'mon, I'll show ya!" He started running down a row of book cases and out of sight.

"Oh," said Hewett in a surprised voice. "Hurry, after him!"

They started running after the little boy. Sirius had never seen any pictures of Remus when he was that young. 'Eight,' thought Sirius as they ran to keep up with Remus. 'That means he hasn't been bitten yet. That explains the blue eyes.' He remembered back in school Remus had said he used to have blue eyes like his parents, but once he was bitten his eyes turned a golden brown. They turned the corner and nearly ran into the little boy. Remus had stopped just short of a row of tables, a young boy was sitting at one of them, he had books and scrolls of parchment all around him and he was writing very fast, seemingly unaware of the five people looking at him from a few feet away.

"That's him," Remus pointed at the young boy sitting at the table.

"Will you introduces us?" asked Hewett.

Remus shook his head. "He doesn't like when I talk to him." He looked sad when he said this. "But he wont mind you guys."

"You sure?" Asked Elbert.

"Mhmm. See you guys later!" He said cheerfully. Then he clapped his hand over his mouth. He looked over at the young boy who was studying, only he wasn't studying anymore. He was now looking at the little boy with a surprising amount of hate in his eyes. "Uh-oh."

The young boy got up from his table and marched over to the little boy. "Remus!" The young boy shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from me?"

"I'm sorry, Remus!" The little boy cowered. "These people wanted to meet you."

The slightly older Remus looked confused, then, seemingly only just noticing them all standing there, said, "Oh." He took one glance at the little boy and back at the group of adults. "Why?"

"They want to know how to get out of here." little Remus supplied.

"Well you should have just sent them through the door, you stupid little-"

"Why are you being so mean to him?" Asked Sirius, shocked at how Remus was acting. He had never seen Remus act this way, not even to the Slytherins. And judging by this Remus's appearance, he was at least a second year.

"Because he's a little brat who never listens." Said the older Remus, glaring at the smaller boy. "It's all his fault."

"What is?" Asked Hewett tentatively.

"It's my fault we're like this." said little Remus, tears in his eyes. "But I haven't even done anything yet!" he started to cry and ran way.

Sirius wanted to stop him but thought better of it. He turned to the only Remus remaining and asked, "What hasn't he done yet?"

But Remus didn't answer. Instead he walked back to his table and started writing again. "You lot should leave. I need to finish this before class today."

Sirius walked over and looked at what he was writing. From what he could make out, it was a potions essay. "What hasn't he done yet?" he asked again.

Remus's hand faltered, making the word Remus had been scribbling become unreadable. Scratching it out with more force than was necessary, he said, "None of your business."

Sirius racked his brain. 'Why would Remus be mad at his eight year old self?' And then it hit him. "Is little Remus's birthday soon?"

Remus's shoulders stiffened. "Yes," He said quietly. "It's tomorrow."

"He's about to get bitten." Said Sirius. "That's why you're mad at him."

"If he would have just listened," said Remus turning around to face Sirius. "Our parents told him to stay in the yard while they finished cleaning up dinner. But he didn't listen. He left the yard to go make a wish in the lake that was down the road from our house. He heard the neighbor kids earlier that day say that on full moons if you made a wish at the edge of the lake, it would come true. If he would have just done what he was told to do, none of this would have happened."

"He was just a kid, Rem. He didn't know any better." Sirius said. "C'mon Moony, don't beat yourself up over it."

"Who's Moony?" Asked Remus.

'Oh, right, he's only twelve. We haven't given each other those nicknames yet.' "Uh, no one." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Look, could you help us? We're trying to get out of here."

Remus shrugged. "I guess." He stood up and gathered his things, shoving them into his book bag. "You have to go through the restricted section, so you have to be quiet or he'll find you."

"Who?" asked Elbert.

"Remus." said Remus.

"And why are you afraid of this Remus?" asked Sirius.

"I'm not afraid of him," said Remus, leading them down rows of books. "He just doesn't want to see you right now."

"Why?" asked Sirius. There were an increasing amount of books on the floor, so many that they were now having to step on them just to continue moving forward.

"Well, you two _did _just break up." said Remus. Sirius was uncomfortably aware of the three Healers looking at him. It's not that he cared if they knew he was gay, he just never really made a habit of letting people know. "Okay, this is as far as I go. I have to finish my paper for class." They were standing on a small mountain of books, something Sirius was sure Madam Pince would never have allowed. "Here's the key," He handed a black iron key to Hewett. "And remember, even though you won't be in the library anymore, you should still try to be quiet or he'll find you." And with that he started making his way back down the large pile of books.

"Okay," said Hewett. "Here we go." She unlocked the iron gates that kept the old restricted area off limits to younger students of Hogwarts, and pushed them open. They all filed through and came to a hallway. Instead of walls, there were wisps of memory flouting around them as they walked.

The first memory was of a little boy by a lake, he was tossing a coin in, a great beast hiding in the shadows, ready to attack. The memory changed to an eleven year old boy being hugged by a crying woman, she was smiling and clutching at a Hogwarts letter in her hand. The boy had been accepted even though he was a werewolf.

The Memory changed and the same young boy sat in a compartment on a train with three other boys. They shook hands and introduced themselves as James, Sirius and Peter. The memory changed to a scared and nervous thirteen year old boy being asked by his friends why his body was covered in scrapes and scares.

The memory changed to Sirius sitting with a fifteen year old Remus in the hospital wing. Young Sirius was crying and asking for his friends forgiveness. Sirius remembered this as the day after he had sent Snape to the Whomping Willow on the night of a full moon, nearly getting the slimy git killed, as well as exposing his best friends most closely kept secret. The memory changed to a sixteen year old Remus telling his friends he was gay. The memory changed to a seventeen year old Sirius kissing Remus in a broom cupboard. The memory changed to an eighteen year old Remus sitting in the living room of the apartment he and Sirius shared, tears flowed down his face as he read a letter from a woman they used to go to school with. Eighteen year old Sirius walked through the door and Remus jumped up and started yelling and firing hexes at him. The Memory changed to Remus accepting the mission to go undercover and infiltrate a werewolf pack that The Order believed to be working with Voldemort.

They reached the end of the hallway and Sirius opened the door quickly, wanting to get away from the memory-go-round. The Healers, thankfully, didn't say anything about what they had just seen. Instead Hewett suggested they keep moving.

They soon found themselves at The Fat Lady's portrait. "Password?"

"Er," said Sirius. He turned to the Healers. "What d'you reckon the password is?"

"D'know." Said Elbert.

"He was your friend, what do you think he would have made it?"

"Um, Cat weasel?"

The Fat Lady frowned. "No," She said. He tried a few others that he could remember from school but none of them worked. He was starting to get frustrated when it occurred to him that it might not be one the Fat Lady came up with when they were at school, but rather, one they had come up with themselves as a prank.

He grinned and said with confidence, "Snape blows his nose with his hair."

"Indeed," The Fat Lady said.

Sirius cackled and climbed through the portrait hole.

"That wasn't a very good password." Said Elbert.

"It was brilliant, what are you talking about?" Said Sirius with a grin. "Back in fourth year we, James and I that is, charmed her to only accept insults directed at Snape as a password." He laughed at the memory. "Remus was so mad at us when he found out. He was going to be late for his study group, and the only way he could get into the tower to get his things was to give an insult. And that's what he picked." He laughed again. "Okay, let's go." he started up the stairs to the room he had always shared with his friends at school, but when he opened the door instead of finding his old dorm room he found the torn apart living room of the Shrieking Shack.

Wright looked around and sniffed the air. "Smells like something died in here. What is this place?"

"It's the place Remus would transform when he was at school." Sirius frowned. "I think someone's upstairs. Shh, listen." They all stopped moving and looked at the ceiling, straining their ears to listen for what Sirius had heard. They could hear a floorboard creak and Hewett motioned for them to follow her up the stairs. They walked down the short hall to the only door, it was open slightly so all Hewett had to do was give it a light push. When the door swung open they didn't see a bedroom like Sirius thought they would. Instead there was a dark room with a figure sitting in a chair. "Remus!" Sirius ran to his friend, but when he made to grab hold of him, his hands went right through. "What the-?"

"Some memories aren't intractable. We should keep going, the one we need will be one we can talk with. C'mon." But when she turned the door that they had come through was gone. "Great." She grumbled. "We need to find a way out of here."

Just then the room lit up. Now that there was some light they could see that Remus had his arms and legs tied to the chair he was sitting in. He had a piece of tape covering his mouth as well. A man came into the room, dragging a limp figure behind him. "We should leave." Hewett said, but none of the others were listening, too transfixed by what was going on.

"Okay, Pet, we're gonna have some fun." The man let go of the figure he was dragging and Sirius recognized who it was immediately.

It was him.

"That can't be right." Sirius muttered. "I don't remember this at all."

The Sirius on the ground grunted and tried to stand, but winced, his leg being twisted in an unnatural angle. His mouth was covered in the same tape as Remus', and his hands were tied behind his back. "I'm sure you're just _dying_ to know what I've got planed, so I won't keep you waiting." the Death Eater told Remus as he pulled out his wand. "I'd like you to play a little game with this lost pup we found." He flicked his wand and the tape covering Remus' mouth ripped away.

"And what makes you think I'll play your games?" Spat Remus. Sirius noticed that his friend was trying not to look at the Sirius on the floor that was whimpering in pain.

"Oh, Pet, you don't have a choice. _Imperio_!" He pointed his wand at Remus and the werewolf stiffened then blinked. The Death Eater smirked and flicked his wand again, the ropes falling away from Remus. "Now, I think you'll need this." He pulled a dagger out of his cloak and handed it to Remus. The blonde took it without question. He stood up and walked over to the man on the floor, his movements slow and jerking. "What's this?" The Death Eater chuckled. "Is my little pet trying to fight against the Imperious cures?" He continued to laugh has Remus shakily stepped over Sirius' form, the raven haired man shaking his head frantically, trying to crawl away. "And pet?" the laughing man called as he sat down in the now vacant chair. "Do take your time." Muffled screams and manic laughter filled the air.

"Oh, God." Elbert clapped a hand over her mouth and turned away. Wright grabbed her arm and started for the door, Hewett and Sirius following. They quickly filed through the door and slammed it shut. "That was..." Elbert made a gagging noise and sat down on the ground, head between her knees.

"What was that?" Sirius looked to Hewett. "That wasn't me."

"No." she agreed. "It was probably some muggle the Death Eaters caught. They must have used a spell or potion to make them look like you."

"Why?"

"To have Remus torture you. Or at least make him think he was. Under the imperious curse, he would be able to see, feel and hear everything, but not be able to stop himself."

"That's horrible." muttered Wright, patting Elbert on the back.

They let Elbert regain her composer before continuing. They were in a long corridor whose walls were lined with doors. Picking the one that was closest, Hewett opened on of the doors and stepped through, the others fallowing closely. They were now in a cave with winding tunnels going in different directions. Again, choosing the one that was closest, Hewett headed down a tunnel. They were walking for at least half an hour when they heard footsteps drawing coming toward them. They all drew their wands and waited for the person to round the corner. Breathing a sigh of relief when they saw it was another Remus they all lowed their wands. That proved to be a mistake. When Remus saw them his eyes quickly found Sirius, without warning he leaped at the man and knocked him to the ground.

"How dare you?!" He screamed as he punched at the man underneath him. "I did everything for you! I would have died for you! And THIS is how you repay me?!" Elbert and Wright struggled to get Remus off. He swung at them and tried biting them, but they managed to pull him off with minimal damage to themselves. "You son of a bitch!" Spat Remus, seemingly unaware he was being held back by two Healers. "How long has this been going on? Tell me, how long have you been sleeping around with that BITCH?! How the fuck could you do this to me? Merlin, I can't believe I let you touch me, you filthy fucking-"

"Stupefy!" Shouted Hewett, Remus instantly fell limp in the two Healers arms. Sirius still lay on the ground, lip bleeding and bruises starting to form. "Are you alright?" She asked, offering him a hand. He took it and stood up. "Would you like me to heal those for you?"

He shook his head. "No," he said, looking at Remus. "No, I," He stuttered. "We should keep going."

Hewett nodded but Elbert asked "What should we do with Remus?"

"Lay him down. He'll be fine." Hewett replied. The two nodded and sat Remus on the ground. "Right, well," She looked awkwardly around. "Off we go then." They walked in silence for another twenty minutes before they began to hear a voice coming from up ahead. They all took out their wands once again. As they crept along, trying to make as little noise as possible, they could just barley hear what the voice was saying.

"Ah, sweety. All you have to do is ask. Just three little words and this will all be over." Sirius and the Healers peaked their heads around the corner, what they saw made Hewett and Elbert cover their mouths, Wright averted is eyes and Sirius stared in open mouthed horror.

Remus was hanging by his wrists from the cave's ceiling, his toes barely touching the ground. He was completely naked, mud, sweat, blood and various other things covered his body. His breathing came in short, raspy breaths. They recognized the man who was speaking as the Death Eater from before. He had his wand out, drawing tiny designs into Remus's flesh with some sort of cutting spell. "Just three little words, Pet, and this will all be over. All you have to say is 'kill me, please'." The man laughed. Remus made a choking sound and the man leaned closer. "What was that, Pet?" Remus said something in the mans ear that was too quiet for them to hear, but by the way the man slapped him and yelled, he had not begged for death. "Shall I have Bryan come and play with you again, Pet? Hmm?" He slapped him again and spat in his face. "See you later, Pet." The man left through another entryway and Sirius leaped out in the open, Hewett tried to grab him but he batted her hand away.

He ran up to Remus and tried a severing charm on the rope around his wrists but to no avail. "Rem? Remmy, can you hear me?" He asked clutching at the man's face. "Rem? Oh, Merlin, Remus, baby, answer me." He hadn't realized his breathing had become erratic until Hewett laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Sirius, we have to keep going." She said.

"What are you talking about? This is it. This is the memory we came for. We need to get him down. Help me get him down." He started using his hands to try and untie the rope but it wasn't working.

"Sirius, this isn't it. Trust me. We need to keep going."

"How do you know?" He asked angrily.

"This isn't the first time I've done something like this, Sirius, and I know this is hard, but we have to leave him here. The memory's close, but this isn't it."

"Please, just help me get him down." he sounded pathetic, he knew, but he couldn't just leave Remus here. Not like this.

"If you really want to save him, you have to keep going." Hewett said, already moving away. "We're very close, it's almost over."

Sirius looked at her then back to Remus. The man's once bright brown eyes were now dim, and for the first time, they looked at Sirius. "Pads?"

Sirius gave a watery laugh and smiled. "Yeah, Moony, it's me."

"Pad's, you gotta leave."

"What? No, I'm not leaving you." Sirius grabbed at his ex-boyfriends face. "I'm never leaving you again. Never."

"You have to. The others told me why you're here." He coughed and blood splattered on Sirius's face. "He really want's to see you, Pad's. You gotta go." Sirius shook his head but Remus spoke again. "Please, Sirius, do it for me?"

Sirius sniffed and nodded. "I love you, Rem. I'll save you, I promise."

Remus's eyes fluttered and he said, "Just watch out for his teeth, okay?" And then his eyes closed and didn't open again.

Sirius let go of Remus and followed after the others. They came to a dead end in the cave, and were about to turn around when something on the cave wall caught Sirius's eye. "Hey, wait." He said, reaching out to touch the spot on the wall. "It's cold."

"Yeah, we are in a cave after all." Said Wright sarcastically.

"No," said Sirius. "It's really cold. Freezing."

"Let me see." Said Hewett. She reached out and touched it. "This is it." She breathed. "Step back, all of you." She aimed her wand at the spot and it exploded. A hole big enough for them to walk through now stood before them. "Come on." she said. Not waiting for them to follow, she stepped through to the other side. Sirius was the last one to walk through, and once he had he had to hold back a gasp.

They had stepped into a clearing of a forest. There was snow over the trees and on the ground, it came almost up to their ankles. On the other side of the clearing stood a boy and a wolf. "Do you think we should talk to him?" Asked Elbert. Without answering, Hewett began to walk forward, Sirius and the others doing the same.

Once they were a mere ten feet away they stopped. "You know why we're here." Hewett said. It was a statement, not a question. The boy said nothing but the wolf started to circle them. "Will you grant us what we seek?" She asked the boy. Once again the boy said nothing.

Instead the wolf said, "Why should I?" It came out as more of a growl than words, Sirius wasn't even sure the wolf had spoken at all until Hewett replied.

"It would benefit Remus."

"The boy is merely a vessel. He requires food, drink and sleep. Nothing more." The wolf growled in response.

"He's more than that!" Shouted Sirius.

"Silence!" Barked the wolf. "I know you well, human. You who distracted me for years with play back when the boy was at school. Every time I was freed you showed up in your other form with those other two. You persuaded me not to hunt, though I craved it. You would have had me starve rather then fulfill my natural instincts. No more. The boy is in a perfect state now."

"Perfect? How can you say that? He's suffering! Surly you can feel that?"

"A minor discomfort." The wolf said, still circling them.

"You said you remembered when we used to play with you when you took over Remus. Don't you remember how that made him feel? He said it was the happiest he'd been since he was bitten. Don't you miss that?"

"It is not necessary to have a pack."

"But it's nice, though, isn't it? Don't you miss it?" Asked Sirius.

"I do not miss the pain he felt when you told that greasy boy where to find us those many years ago. Or when you abandoned the boy in favor of another human mate. A pack where humans are involved only creates pain. And only I feel his pain, and he feels mine. When I am denied the hunt or a mate, he feels it just as I do. You humans can not understand us. We are better left alone."

"He can't take care of himself like this, you know that." said Hewett. "He can't be left alone for more than a night at a time. He'd die without his pack of humans, and you along with him."

"It would be a better fate than captivity."

"Who said anything about being in captivity? Look," Said Sirius. "I understand your point of view, really, but you have to let us heal him. Why keep him this way?"

"Because he wishes it." Said the wolf, stopping to sit by the boy. "Just as he is my vessel, I am made to keep him safe. When he feels lonely, I remind him he is not alone. When he hungers, I help him find food. When he is in danger, I help him survive. These past years have not been easy. My vessel has been bound and abused and I have not been able to defend it. I was only able to let him escape through his mind, I let him stay with me in my home."

"Your home?" inquired Hewett.

"This place you see before you now. Since he and I were connected when he was a boy, this has been my dwelling place. Once a month I am freed from it and the rest of the time I am here. When he was being tortured, I felt it. To ease the pain I let him in here. He would slip in and out, and every time I would be waiting for him. I kept him safe. And now, rather then return to a world that has only shown him pain and torment, he wishes to stay with me, here."

"But, we miss him." Sirius said desperately. "I miss you," he said to the boy. "I miss everything about you. I miss your smile, your voice, your laugh. Merlin, I even miss the way you'd snore whenever you had a cold. I miss you, Moony. I miss you so much it hurts."

The boy tilted his head at Sirius in confusion, then looked at the wolf. "He does not understand you, human." the wolf said.

"How does he not understand? Remus," Sirius said, taking a few steps forward. "Rem, I-"

"Do not come any closer." The wolf warned. The boy looked scared.

"Rem," Sirius said again, still walking. "I can't-" WHAM! The wolf jumped on him and slammed him to the ground. Sirius, only momentarily stunned, quickly transformed into his Animagus form. A big black dog now fought with the wolf. Snarling and biting at each other, the two canines rolling around on the ground. It wasn't long before the white snow on the ground turned red.

"NO!" screamed the boy running towards the two. "STOP!" The wolf and dog broke apart, the wolf standing by the boy, the dog by the Healers, both canines hackles still raised. The boy knelt down besides the wolf and forced its head around to look it straight in the eye. The boy and his wolf stared at each other for what seemed like ages. Finally the wolf started to back away.

"The boy has changed his mind. Treat him well, human." The 'or else' hanging in the air. The wolf started walking into the forest. The boy looked at the group of people and smiled. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small wooden box. He stepped forwards and set it in front of the dog. He kissed the dog on the top of the head and then turned and ran after his wolf.

Sirius transformed back and picked up the box. On the lid was the constellation Sirius was named after. "Is this it?" Asked Sirius, somehow already knowing the answer.

"That's it," said Hewett. She took the box from him and smiled. "You did it."

He returned the smile. "What do we do now?"

"Now we cast the memory charms." She said. Casting the charms, as it turned out, took only a few minutes. Hewett opened the box and a cloud of wispy smoke emerged. She first had Wright bottle it in a small vile, then cast a replication spell and put a duplication of the cloud back in the box. Elbert cast a complicated looking locking charm on the box and a tiny padlock appeared on the box. Though they had gone over these steps before they had entered Remus' mind, Hewett explained to Sirius that if they were to simply take the memories of Remus' captivity away, it could cause more damage than it would fix. So instead they took the original memory and bottled it for later viewing, and replaced it with a copy of it, one that had been 'softened,' so that when Remus recalled the memories it would be like he was recalling a story he was once told, so that he wouldn't have the same emotional connection with them. Over time they would slowly unlock the small box by having Remus view the real memories through a Pensieve.

Soon they were walking back through the cave. "Do we have to walk all the way back?" Asked Elbert.

"Mm, I don't think so," Said Hewett, pointing to a a group of people just a few feet ahead of them. It was a group entirely made up of Remus's. Eight year old Remus stood at the front of the group and beamed at them as they got closer.

"You did it!" He shouted, running up to Sirius and hugging him around the middle. "I knew you could do it!"

Sirius smiled and patted the boy on the head. Hewett smiled as well and asked, "You wouldn't happen to know a way put of here, would you?"

"I sure do!" said little Remus excitedly. "This way!" He pushed past the group of Remus's and to a door that seemed very out of place set in a cave wall. "Just go through here and you'll be back home." He puffed out his chest, obviously very proud to know the way out. As Hewett opened the door, a white light coated over everything.

Sirius opened his eyes to find he was sitting in a chair in St. Mungo's. He looked around to see Rimp checking Hewett's vitals. Seeing he was awake she smiled at him and came to check his. She must have been satisfied by what she found, because she then handed him a small cup of juice and told him to drink it while she went to check on Elbert, who had just woken up. Sirius sat in his chair looking at Remus sleep in his bed. He got up and went over to the edge of the bed. It was five minutes later that Remus finally opened his eyes. Rimp came over and was checking his vitals, Hewett handing him a cup of water and then began asking him questions. He spoke as little as possible, answering 'yes', 'no' and 'I don't know.' After Rimp and Hewett were done with their tests, they all congratulated themselves for a job well done. Once the Healers left Remus looked at Sirius for the first time since waking up.

"Er," stamered James, feeling awkward. "I'll go flu Albus. Let him know that Remus is... yeah." He hurried from the room.

"Hey," said Sirius. Remus smiled but then his smile quickly faded into a frown which turned into a broken face filled with tears. Remus berried his face in his hands and sobbed. Sirius walked over to the side of the bed and climbed in. He held Remus and made shushing noises. "It's alright now." He said. "It'll all be alright."

**BAM THE END.**


End file.
